Walpole High School is not a very technically up-to-date place.  The school is not iPod and cell phone friendly, and it seems as though it does not encourage new technology at all.  Teachers and the administration need to start to realize that most students do not use cell phones to cheat on tests or anything malicious for that matter.  

    Students are told freshman year that cell phones need to be turned off and be in his or her locker.  However, cell phones are a vital part of today’s fast moving world, and many students rely on their phones for rides to and from school, contacting parents, and for other legitimate reasons.  So shouldn’t they be constantly available instead of hidden away?    The school claims that kids who use iPods and cellphones are distracting other students.  This is simply not true; students who use cell phones in school are not distracting anybody except themselves.  

    According the the student handbook, students can receive hours for “unauthorized use of Walkman radios, beepers, cell phones, and other electronic devices defined by the Principal”.  The handbook, however, does not define the list of “other electronic devices” restricted which allows the Principal to ban anything he wishes for any purpose. Teachers should allow students to listen to their iPods while taking tests, working independently, and any other time when the teacher is not lecturing or talking to the class.     

  Allowing iPods in class encourages a creative atmosphere which is  much more efficient than the usual dull environment.  Many other schools have banned iPods because many students have exploited the technology to cheat on tests. This is not a valid reason to ban such a vital resource.  Outside of school in today’s technology driven world, iPods and cell phones are always readily available and used. Yet in school where students are taught to succeed in that world they are deprived of such a useful tool as the iPod, seemingly for no apparent reason.  

    If the school refuses to lift all restrictions on electronics, they should compromise and allow them during lunches, studies, and in-between classes.  Cell phones are essential to the life of a student.  Students become attached to their phones and bring them everywhere and use them for everything.  Walpole High should respect the students wishes and lift the restriction on cellphones and iPods.